Putin: West wants to put Russian bear ‘on a chain’

Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at the West on Thursday for causing his country’s economic crisis, saying it would take two years to recover.

“Sometimes I think, maybe they’ll (the West) let the bear eat berries and honey in the forest, maybe they will leave it in peace,” Putin said at a news conference in Moscow, using a metaphor to refer to Russia’s famed symbol. “They will not. Because they will always try to put him on a chain, and as soon as they succeed in doing so they tear out his fangs and his claws.”

Putin’s address comes amid plunging oil prices, sanctions from the West over his actions in eastern Ukraine and a ruble currency that has lost more than half of its value in recent months.